Railroad-spike



A. D. KITTLE.

RAILROAD SPIKE.

(No Model.)

No. 439,524. Patented 0013.28, 1890.

Afro/Mn.

. WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO D. KITTLE, OF BLAUVELTVILLE, NEIV YORK.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,524, dated October28, 1890.

Application filed January 16, 1890- Serial No. 337,100. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALONZO D. KITTLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Blanveltville, in the county of Rockland and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Railroad-Spike, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in a spike to be used in holdingrails in place upon the ties, for fastening logs in building docks andpiers, and for similar purposes.

The object of my invention is to provide a spike which shall be cheap inmanufacture, strong and serviceable, and which shall be adapted by theconstruction of its shank to remain firmly fixed in the object intowhich it is driven. I attain this object by the device illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front View of therailroadspike, showing the head B, shank A,incisions a b, and point C.Fig. 2 is a side view of the railroad-spike, showing the head B, shankA, incision a, incision h in outline, and point C. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section of the railroadspike on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1,showing a portion of the shank A and the incisions a 1).

Similar letters referto similarparts throughout.

My railroad-spike, which consists of a solid piece, is provided with ahead B. The head B, as shown in the drawings, is a projecting or clutchhead adapted to catch over the edge of a rail. Extending downward fromthe head is a four-sided shank A, having a point 0. Upon each ofopposite sides of the shank A are incisions a I), cut across the facesof the sides. These incisions are cut sufficiently far down on the shankto allow them to sink well into the object into which the spike isdriven, one incision being placed below the other, so as not to weakenthe shank A, as they would if placed directly opposite each other. Eachof the incisions a b is out across the side of the shank A at an angleless than a right angle to the plane of the side, the sides of the shankA on which the incisions a b are out being tapered or wedge-shaped fromthe head of the shank to the lowest points of the incisions. Awedge-shaped taper may be given to the incision-bearin g sides theentire length of the shank A from the head to the point C, the angle ofthe wedge from the head to the incisions a I) being more acute than theangle of the wedge from the head to the point C, as shown in thedrawings. Although preferable, it is not necessary in construction tomake the sides of the shank A wedge-shaped below the points a b. Theobject of the wedgeshaped construction above the points a b is that theincisions are thus in effect projections, and the grain of the wood orother substance into which the spike is driven is allowed to close overthe incisions a 1;, thus holding the spike in place. The plane of theincisions a b is at right angles to the plane of the point C, and thepoint of the spike being driven across the grain of the sleeper thisconstruction further facilitates the closing of the grain around theincisions a b. The essential feature of the incisions a b is that whilenot actually projections which when the spike is driven would tear thegrain, they have the effect of being projections over which the grainreadily closes and holds the spike firm. The front and back of the shankare preferably not tapered, but left straight, thus affording the shankgreater strength.

Havingfully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protectby Letters Patent, is-

1. A spike having a clutch-head B, a foursided shank A, and a point C,the shank being tapered for a portion of its length on each of twoopposite sides, and having at the termination of the taper on each ofsaid sides a shoulder whereby the shank is firmly held in the objectinto which itis driven, substantially as described.

2. A spike having a clutch-head B, a foursided shank A, and a point C,the shank being tapered on each of two opposite sides, and having at thetermination of the taper on each of said sides an incision the plane ofwhich is at right angles to the plane of the point C, substantially asdescribed.

ALONZO D. KITTLE.

Witnesses:

JAMES M. BALL,

CHAS. E. WILSON.

